CSA share week #8 Saturday July 16th and Tuesday July 19th

In your share this week  
- carrots
- radicchio
- genovese basil (Tuesday received theirs early this past Tuesday)
- lettuce
- celery
- pickling cucumbers
- summer squash (most likely the last week of this for now)
- zucchini (most likely the last week of this for now)

easy refrigerator pickles
-pickling cukes
- dried dill (if desired)
-2 garlic cloves, sliced
-1 quart of water
-1/2 a cup of vinegar
-1/4 a cup of sugar
-1/6 a cup of salt
-1 teaspoon of pickling spice

Cut pickling cucumbers lengthwise into spears either in halves or quarters depending on size preference. In a large bowl, combine the cucumbers, dill as desired and garlic; set aside.

In a pan over medium/high heat combine the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until sugar is just dissolved. Pour over cucumber mixture; cool.

Transfer to jars if desired and cover tightly. Refrigerate for at least 24 hours. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Zucchini Parmesan
2 large zucchini, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1/2 a cup fresh chopped basil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (16 ounce) jar spaghetti squash
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. In a large pot boil the zucchini until tender; drain. Meanwhile, in a medium frying pan heat the olive oil over medium heat and saute the onions and garlic until the onion is tender.
3. Combine the zucchini, onion, garlic, and basil in a 9x12 inch casserole dish and mix well. Pour the spaghetti sauce over the mixture and stir well. Top with mozzarella cheese.
4. Bake in preheated oven for about 20 minutes, or until heated through and cheese is bubbly.

Radicchio is an Italian salad/cooking green that grows in a dense head. It is slightly bitter. like catalogna, escarole, eggplant and other bitter vegetables you can soak radicchio in cold salted water before serving to remove the bitterness.The following slaw recipe sweetens it up with honey and nectarines.

Radicchio slaw with nectarines
1/4 a cup buttermilk
1/4 a cup sour cream
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp. honey
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 head radicchio shredded
2 nectarines cut into small cubes

1. In a large bowl, combine the buttermilk, sour cream, vinegar and honey; season with salt and pepper. Whisk in the olive oil.
2. Add the radicchio and nectarines to the dressing and toss to coat.

A big thank you to all of you who have been giving me recipes, I look forward to using them in the blog, I try to pick kid friendly recipes as much as possible if you have noticed my fondness for healthy "junk food" items like kohlrabi chips and zucchini fries!

The cherry tomatoes are just starting to color and I am really hoping they will be ready in quantity to give out in the share by next week.

Many of you have inquired about whether we grow fruit and for some reason I often forget to mention the melons,  we grow several varieties of melons, I am also hoping to convince the farmer to let us grow strawberries next year, it took me 2 years of constant pestering for him to let me start a CSA so I'm hopeful. The other thought is contracting with another local farm that does grow fruit for an add-on fruit share, I'd love to hear if anyone would be interested in this, most likely it would not be organic. I am also hoping to find a way to make eggs available on a consistent basis. Also with the cut flowers I have the dilemma that some members really want flowers and some really don't, they would prefer only edible items which is understandable. We try really hard to make everyone happy. Next year we will most likely have a separate flower share for those interested where you get a bouquet every week during the flower season. Again I'd love to hear if anyone is interested in this.

CSA share week #7 Saturday July 9th, Tuesday July 12th

In your share this week 
1 bunch red cloud beets- $3.50
2 lbs. windsor fava beans- $8.00
1 lb. marketmore cucumbers- $3.00
1 bunch Italian flat leaf parsley- $2.00
3 lbs. reward green zucchini- $6.00
3 lbs. sebring yellow summer squash- $6.00
6 ct. sunflowers- $6.00


total net worth of share = $34.50

Zucchini Fries
 2 zucchini
1 egg white
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
vegetable cooking spray or oil

preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cut zucchini into 3 inch sticks. Whisk egg white in a small bowl, add milk. Combine parmesan and seasoned bread crumbs in a separate bowl. Dip zucchini sticks into egg mixture and then roll in bread crumb mixture. Coat a baking sheet with oil or cooking spray and place zucchini on sheet. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes

Summer squash with parsley and lemon
4 summer squash cut into bite size peices
1 tbsp butter
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 cup parsley
1/2 tsp. fresh grated lemon peel

 melt butter in a skillet over med./high heat. Add squash, salt and pepper and cook until squash is tender/crisp, about 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in parsley and lemon peel and serve.

Beet, citrus and avacado salad
for the dressing
-2 tbsp. lemon or lime juice
-1 tsp. cumin
-salt and pepper
-1/2 tsp. mustard
- 3 tbsp. olive oil
for the salad
- 1 bunch of beets scrubbed and roasted
- 1 pink grapefruit
- 1 large ripe but firm avacado
- 2 tbsp. chopped parsley

1. Mix together lemon or lime juice, cumin, salt, pepper and mustard. Whisk in the olive oil.

2. Slice roasted beets or cut into wedges. Toss with 2 tbsp. of the dressing

3. Cut away both ends of the grapefruit so it sits flat. Cut the skin and pith away from the fruit. Cut away each segment from between the membranes.

4. Arrange the beets in the center of the platter and surround with the grapefruit and avacado slices. Drizzle on the remaining dressing and sprinkle on the parsley and serve.

Fava beans  
fava beans will only be in the share for one week, they are one of my favorite specialty vegetables we grow, unlike all other beans they require cool temps. to germinate and about 4 months to mature. They are the first thing we plant in the year anytime from the end of February to late March. They are thought to be beneficial to those with Parkinsons Disease and those wanting to prevent it.
Preparation
 Shell the beans and then each bean also has a skin that can be peeled, when I eat them raw I peel them or eat them like sunflower seeds still in the shell, spitting the shells out. Many people peel them before cooking as well, I don't bother with this step. Cooked in olive oil the skins lose any bitterness. 1/4 a cup shelled is one serving and 132 calories.

More notes about the share
The share is designed to provide for 2 to 4 people but at a cost of only $25 a week for 21 weeks, if you have a large family and are splitting a share you might not feel like you are getting enough in your share.

If you wish to buy extra for the purpose of canning or pickling you are welcome to do so, our customer hours are the same as our CSA pick up hours. We currently have pickling cucumbers. If you want to control what you receive you might be interested in Greenbucks instead of CSA next year.

We do multiple plantings of certain things, in general our first squash and zucchini planting is very productive and the second not quite, oppositely the first cucumbers are less productive than the 2nd, hang in there you are sure to enjoy more cukes later in the season. I hope no one is too sick of zucchini and summer squash yet, it is about to slow down but lots of good things are on the way!

Sweet corn, we are also attempting popcorn.

Many varieties of potatoes and also sweet potatoes.

Tomatoes- cherry, heirloom, slicing, and sauce.

as well as melons, peppers, eggplants and all the other summer crops.

CSA share week #6 Saturday July 2nd and Tuesday July 5th

In the share this week
- Carrots
- Celery
- Cucumbers
- Cabbage
- English Shelling Peas
- Lettuce
- Zucchini
- Summer Squash
- English Mint

Penne pasta with grilled summer squash
1 lb. penne pasta
1 1/2 lbs. summer squash, halved crosswise and each half cut lengthwise into 3 thick slabs
1/4 a cup plus 2 tbsp. olive oil
1 container (15 oz.) whole-milk ricotta cheese
1 clove garlic, grated
salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat a grill to medium-high. In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta according to packagr directions; drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water. Return the pasta to the pot.
2. Meanwhile, brush the squash pieces with 1/4 cup olive oil and season with salt. Grill, turning once, until nicely charred, about 10 minutes. When cool enough to handle, coarsely chop.
3. In a large bowl mix the squash, 2 tbsp. olive oil, ricotta, and garlic, toss well. Add the pasta and stir in about 1/2 cup of the reserved cooking water. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Celery Salad with Blue Cheese
- 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 tsp. dijon mustard
- salt and pepper
- 1 bunch of celery with leaves, ribs sliced 1/4 inch thick, leaves reserved
- 3/4 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
- 3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese

 1. In a small bowl, combine the vinegar, mustard and 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper. Whisk in the olive oil.
2. In a large bowl, combine the celery, 1 1/2 cups celery leaves, the walnuts and the blue cheese. Add the dressing and toss to coat.

cold cucumber yogurt soup
- 3 small cucumbers peeled and seeded
- 1 cup of yogurt
- 1 tbsp. chopped mint
- 1 clove of garlic
- 2 tsp. lime juice
- salt and pepper

in a blender, puree cucumber with yogurt, mint, garlic and lime juice; season with salt and pepper.

Coleslaw
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cabbage
- 1 to 2 medium carrots, grated
- 2 tbsp. lemon juice
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp. caraway seeds
- honey to taste
- salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, mix well chill and serve.

I'm going to attempt making wasabi peas in my food dehydrator, you can also try this in a regular oven there are several recipes I've come across on the internet, I'll let you know if it's a success.

                                           end of the day at the farm.

Have a great 4th of July!

CSA share week #5 Saturday June 25th and Tuesday June 28th

In your share this week   
- Carrots
- English Shelling Peas (these have to be shelled before being eaten, they have a tough shell)
- Italian Flat Leaf Parsley
- Beira Kale- (Portuguese Kale, looks like collard greens)
- Green Zucchini
- Golden Zucchini
- Summer Squash
- Fennel
- Kohlrabi (you can also eat the leaves just like kale)
- Lettuce 

optional- U-Pick sugar snap peas, you can chose to pick your own sugar snap peas during the hours of your pick up day, e-mail me if you are interested bcalberg@yahoo.com.

Extras box- (or basket) where the give and take box is located next to the shares in the fridge we will now have extras of whatever we have in bulk at the time, right now that would be zucchini and summer squash and possibly lettuce, feel free to help your self. I'll try to keep you posted each week on what we might have extras of.

4th of July weekend- if anyone is going to be out of town and would like to pick up their share the Friday before the 4th instead of your usual pick up day Saturday/Tuesday let me know ASAP so we can plan accordingly.
  
Fresh pea risotto    
1 can (14.5 oz.) chicken or veggie broth
3 tbsp.butter
1 cup arborio rice  
salt and pepper
1 cup peas (after shelling)
1 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
1 lemon, zested

1. In a small saucepan, heat the broth and 1 3/4 cups water over high heat until steaming. Cover and keep warm. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, melt 1 tbsp. butter over medium heat. Add the rice and 1/2 tsp. salt and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes.
2. Stir in 1 cup of the broth mixture, bring to a simmer and cook stirring, until the liquid is absorbed, 2 to 3 minutes. Maintaining a slow simmer, continue to add the broth mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring frequently and allowing the rice to absorb the liquid. Cook until the rice is tender and creamy, 20 to 25 minutes. Add the remaining 2 tbsp. of butter, the peas and 1/2 cup cheese and cook, stirring, until the cheese has melted. Stir in the lemon zest, season with salt and pepper. Top with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese.

(Tip- save the pea shells, they make a wonderful soup stock which you can use for either the risotto or the Portuguese Kale Soup) fennel tops and carrot tops can also be used in creating stock for soups.

try shelling and eating the peas raw, they are incredibly sweet and make a fun snack.

Zucchini Fennel Fritters
2 medium sized zucchini coarsely grated
1 fennel bulb coarsely grated
salt and pepper
1 large egg
1/2 a cup all purpose flour
1/2 a cup olive oil
sour cream or plain yogurt

1. Place the shredded zucchini and fennel in a colander in your sink and salt with 1 tsp. of salt, allow to drain excess liquid for 10 minutes.
2. Whisk the egg in a large bowl, add zucchini, fennel, flour, and 1/4 tsp. pepper, mix well.
3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook in two batches. Drop 6 mounds of batter,( 2 tbsp. each) into the skillet. Flatten slightly with a spatula, cook turning  once until browned, 4 to 6 minutes on both sides. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Sprinkle with salt. Repeat for second batch.
4. serve hot with sour cream or plain yogurt on the side.

Fennel- pairs well with many seafoods, especially mussels and salmon, also with sweet italian sausage.

Kohlrabi Chips
Very thinly sliced rounds of unpeeled kohlrabi
olive oil
salt
1. toss the kohlrabi with the olive oil, season with salt.
2. arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with a non-stick mat.
3. bake at 250 degrees, rotating sheet until crisp and deep golden, 35 minutes to an hour, transfer chips as they are done to a paper towel lined plate.

Beira (Portuguese) Kale- prepare like normal kale or collard greens, steamed, sauteed, braised, fried, or baked. You can find many recipes for traditional Portuguese Kale Soup online, this is a hearty soup that involves kale, potatoes, beans and sausage and is perfect for a cool rainy day. ( which at the moment of writing this it happens to be).

Parsley Carrot Salad - combine chopped or shredded carrots, chopped parsley, lemon juice to taste, a little olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Parsley is also very commonly used chopped and served on steamed carrots.
other suggested uses for parsley would be parsley pesto, tabouleh salad, Italian and mediterranean dishes.

CSA share week #4 Saturday June 18th/ Tuesday June 21st

In your share this week
- shallots (these are fresh so you can use the green tops too like scallions)
- beets (leaves are edible)
- swiss chard (use the stems and the leaves)
- sugar snap peas
- lettuce
- zucchini
- cucumbers (pickling cukes can be eaten just like regular cukes)
- lemon thyme

zucchini linguine with lemon thyme
 serves 4 prep time 20 minutes
 - piece (4 oz.) parmesan cheese
 - 2 lemons, finely zested and juiced
- 1 clementine, finely zested and juiced
- 1 tablespoon lemon thyme leaves
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
 - 1/2 a cup of olive oil
- 1 3/4 lbs. small zucchini
- 1 cup slivered almonds

1. using a peeler shave half of the parmesan, grate the remaining.
2. in a food processor, combine the grated cheese, lemon and clementine zests and juices, lemon thyme, and mustard. With the machine on, drizzle in the olive oil.
3.using a mandoline with a julienne blade, slice the zucchini into strands. Place in a bowl and toss with the almonds and dressing, top with the parmesan curls.

serve as a side dish or serve on pasta or rice for a meal.

Cucumber chickpea salad 
- 1/2 pound cucumbers diced
- 1 can of chickpeas drained
- 1 tablespoon lemon thyme leaves finely chopped
- 2 shallots finely minced
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Mix all ingredients thoroughly in a bowl and chill before serving.

Swiss chard and white beans 
Remove the chard leaves from the stems and chop or tear up into bite size pieces. Chop the chard stems into small pieces, finely chop two fresh shallots. Heat a little olive oil in a large frying pan, on medium heat, add the shallot and stems first, cook until slightly tender then add the chard leaves. Add one can of drained white beans (I like cannelini or corona beans) cook until desired tenderness, season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve alone or with pasta or rice.

easy beet salad             
Shred raw beets with a grater and place in a bowl. Mix in with the beets a little orange juice, a little olive oil, a drizzle of honey and salt and pepper to taste (experiment with different spices, I really like to add ground coriander and cardamom to beets) serve this on top of a simple lettuce salad with walnuts and feta cheese.

We've all been needing our rain gear this week!

One of our interns Liz learning to operate the John Deere tractor, prepping the field to plant our fall crops, broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, and cabbage.

Notes about pickup
If you miss your pickup or think you might miss your pick up or want to make special arrangements for vacations just email me at bcalberg@yahoo.com to let me know, if I don't hear from you within 24 hours after a missed pick up your share will be donated to the Franklin Food Pantry. You can always have someone else pick up for you as well!

I also wanted to say a big Thank You to all of you in the CSA program this year, it has been so wonderful meeting all of you and with your support early on in the season we are looking forward to an abundant year, I can't wait to pack summer shares with sweet corn, tomatoes, peppers, melons and all of the exciting hot weather veggies! Thank you for helping to make this all possible.

Some of you have already asked about signing up again for next year, those in the CSA this year get priority before those on our waiting list and we are looking at extending the program next year.

For those of you on Facebook if you want to share any great recipes you've found for anything we grow we'd love to hear about them.

see you soon,
Becky
Grateful Farm

CSA share week #3 Saturday June 11th and Tuesday June 14th

In the share this week
-green and gold zucchini
-head lettuce
-baby spinach
-red russian kale
-catalogna
-dill
-scallions
-sugar snap peas

Red Russian Kale is one of several varieties of kale we grow. A vitamin rich green, you can prepare kale by braising, steaming, frying or roasting. You can also eat it raw finely chopped and tossed with olive oil and vinegar, the kale chips recipe below is an easy way to get kids to eat their vegetables.

Baked Kale Chips
1 bunch kale
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. With a knife or scissors removes the leaves from the stems and tear into bite size pieces. Wash and thoroughly dry kale. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, toss to coat and spread pieces on the cookie sheet.
3. Bake until the edges brown but are not burnt, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Catalogna is an Italian salad green that is also quite good lightly steamed or braised. Soak catalogna in a little salt water (like eggplant) if you find the taste slightly bitter.

Dill and butter zucchini
2 sliced green zucchini
2 sliced golden zucchini
1/4 cup butter (or less, or olive oil)
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons fresh chopped dill
1 tablespoon lemon juice

1. Place the sliced zucchini in a large skillet or saucepan with the butter. Saute over a medium-low heat for 10 minutes, add salt, pepper and dill.
2. Continue to saute for an additional 10 minutes before adding the lemon juice. Stir well and serve hot.

Sugar snap peas
You eat these super sweet peas as the whole pod, you do not shell them. Try them raw by themselves, with a dip, or on a salad. You can also toss them in olive oil and roast them, or saute them with chopped scallions and zucchini.

A big congratulations to farmer Tim, he is the proud new grandpa of Angela Jean Garboski!

CSA share week #2 Saturday, June 4th and Tuesday June 7th

In your share this week- arugula, salad mix, head lettuce, cilantro, chives, fennel, kohlrabi, bok choy, broccoli raab.

(Tuesday pick up received their arugula and broccoli raab a week early due to hot weather we weren't sure if it would stick around another full week, certain vegetables really don't like the heat and will bolt, those who have switched pick up days from Saturday to Tuesday don't worry I'll make sure you get yours with your share this Tuesday!)

cold sesame bok choy
1 head bok choy roughly chopped
1/2 cup chopped chives
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 pinch sugar
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons sesame seeds

1. steam the bok choy to desired tenderness (not too long, it steams fairly quickly)
2. drain  bok choy in a colander and squeeze out as much water as possible
3. whisk together soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and chives in a large bowl, add the bok choy and toss to coat.
4. chill in the fridge for one hour.
5. just before serving add the sesame oil and sesame seeds, toss to coat.

Fennel kohlrabi coleslaw
1. thinly slice or shred equal amounts of kohlrabi and fennel.
2. toss in a bowl with enough mayonnaise to lightly coat. ( 1 to 2 tablespoons) if you don't want to use mayo, olive oil and apple cider vinegar makes a good dressing.
3. sweeten as desired with honey or sugar.
4. chill before serving.

The fronds on the fennel are edible as well as the fennel bulb, you can chop them up and use them sparingly on salad or make a fennel flavored soup stock.

Kohlrabi leaves are edible and very good especially when young, steam or sautee them as you would kale.

Broccoli raab is prepared much like asparagus, you eat the whole stalk leaves and all, lightly steam or sautee it until tender, many people find it naturally salty.

arugula is a slightly spicy salad green that can be used raw or cooked.

cilantro is a common ingredient in many asian and mexican dishes, try making pesto with cilantro instead of basil. (the internet is also always an endless source of recipes for new things)

I wanted to make a special request to ask people to please drive slow and be aware up at the farm. There are often young children around and I also have a very sweet but handicapped dog, I am sure most of you will get to meet him, Sawyer was born with a rare form of muscular dystrophy making it difficult to move quickly and he has a tendency to fall down when scared.

The first week of June is a super busy planting week for us, it is now safe to plant all our hot weather crops. So far all of our tomato, peppers, and eggplants are in. By Sunday we hope to be done planting our melons, okra, tomatillas, pumpkins and winter squash, as well as our second planting of cucumbers. Above two of our farm interns Katie and Liz plant heirloom tomatoes.